Teacher and coursebook writer, Paul Dummett, talks about his experience at the Image Conference in Lisbon.
1. What did you enjoy about The Image Conference?
I really liked the emphasis on the power of images to help us understand the lives of others (empathy). The last talk I saw by Joanna Norton was inspirational in this way.
2. How was The Image Conference different from other conferences you’ve been to?
On the face of it, a two-day conference about only one aspect of teaching seems as though it would be repetitive and boring. But actually it really allows ideas to be thoroughly examined and strong themes to emerge.
3. Sum up your talk briefly.
My own talk about five ‘thoughtful’ teaching activities was intended to show how images can encourage deeper understanding of things around us and so stimulate deeper processing of language.
4. What were the main discussion points to arise in The Image Conference?
For me:
1 How do we answer the demand for images that can aid the teaching of specific language items?
2 Since we are teachers and teacher trainers, not neuroscientists, could there be value in hearing from people with a scientific training on this subject at a future conference? It seems often speakers feel the need to give their ideas academic rigour by citing empirical research, when actually we really should be concentrating on sharing our own experience of what works in the classroom.
